Snow to melt by Sunday afternoon

Any snow on the ground Sunday morning is expected to melt by Sunday afternoon, forecasters say.

Light snow is in the morning forecast as a result of an upper level system hitting the area and moving Northeast, according to meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Newport.

The system will bring up to 1 inch of snow for Duplin, Jones, Onslow, Carteret, Lenoir, Craven and Pamlico counties and a snow/rain mix for coastal areas.

“We have a winter weather advisory in effect for Onslow and surrounding counties,” Meteorologist Casey Dail said Saturday afternoon. “It’s an upper level system that developed in the Southeast and will bring snow to the area.”

The winter weather advisory is in effect 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday.

“Temperatures will drop overnight to around freezing and slightly below freezing in areas towards the (Jacksonville) airport and Richlands,” Dail said. “There could just be light snow accumulating (Sunday) morning on grassy, elevated surfaces.”

The snow will end quickly by mid-day and will likely melt in the afternoon as temperatures climb into the 40s, according to the NWS hazardous weather outlook report.

“It’s definitely going to get warmer Sunday afternoon,” Dail said. “For the most part the participation type will transition from a rain/snow mix to snow then back to rain. There’s a strong low pressure system (arriving) Monday into Monday night.”